From the City with 64 Orchestras to the One with… 3

foto: Virgil Oprina

This story can be told both ways, because two rare musical events took place during the past 10 days: The Moscow Philharmonics was in Bucharest and the Bucharest Philharmonics was in Moscow.

If differences are huge in favour of Moscow (no need to say that the 64 orchestras are in Moscow, not in Bucharest), the joy of those who attended one or both concerts of the Moscow Philharmonics at the Romanian Atheneum certainly turn the scale into our favour, Although I listened to it before in the “Enescu” Festival, the feeling that this fabulous orchestra came to visit your place, that it held concerts in Arad and Timişoara were elements which gave the audience a feeling of cosiness and closeness which no one can doubt.

In its Jubilee Tournamet – celebrating 60 years of existence, with popular and mainly Russian programs, the Moscow Philharmonics Orchestra held a first concert conducted by Yuri Simonov with a program which included the Symphony No. 9 by Dvorak, Prelude and Isolda's Liebestod from the Opera Tristan and Isolde by Wagner and the Suite from the ballet The Fire Bird by Stravinsky. The second concert was conducted by the Chisinau born conductor Yuri Botnari and followed the same line of the famous Romatic scores: Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances, Ceaikovski's Fantasy Overture Romeo and Juliet and Suite from the ballet Swan Lake.

After Kiril Kondrashin who conducted it between 1960 and 1976 and Dmitry Kitayenko between 1976 and 1990, Yuri Simonov is the most enduring conductor of the Moscow Philharmonics, holding its chair for 13 years now. The fact that over time major guests like Charles Munch, Igor Markevitch, Kurt Sanderling, Igor Stravinsky, Zubin Mehta, Krzysztof Penderecki, Lorin Maazel were in front of the orchestra is absolutely remarkable. However, that deeply Russian sound, overflowing with expression and substance that I could feel in most episodes when the tuttis flew from the strings is closely related to Russian spirit, to which music is but the translation of a state of the soul and the symphonic discourse is but musical confession. The specifically long scores, the wide and decorative themes, the extended, natural, spontaneous elaborations, working on the strings, but never forcing the sound volume, the desire to translate into music human passions, this hyper-Romanticism of Russian music sounds just as incredible with the Russian instrumentalists nowadays, one century or even one century and a half after this music was composed. A good comparison opportunity is also provided by the section of wooden blow instruments, as well as that on tin blow instruments, where we were impressed by the straightforward interpretation, filled with personality, although a little more refined at the chapter of overtaking nuances from one score to the other.

The sound result impassioned the audience. Yet, many of those present at the Atheneum were probably unable to hold back a deep sigh. Because the feeling that this wonderful orchestra gives – especially to those who are now over 35 – it is the same nostalgia which comes from the fact that – keeping not very large proportions of distance – the three orchestras in Bucharest sounded pretty much the same in the 1970s, when the distance between the Russian and the Romanian schools was smaller.

The Symphonic of the “George Enescu” Philharmonics, conducted by Horia Andreescu held in its turn a concert on 3^rd June in Moscow, at the invitation of the organisers of the 6^th edition of the “Festival of World Symphony”, actually opening the festival at the Hall of Columns in Moscow, a hall located in the neighbourhood of Kremlin, a major hall of the Russian capital, with a program that included the Symphony No. 1 by Beethoven and Symphony No. 2 by Enescu. The audience was large, the Moscow televisions marked the event and the effort of the Romanian musicians who held a second concert in Perm, one day later, was fully rewarded.